Not just racist parties: the AfD, the FN and sexual politics

The AfD is well known as a racist party. More hidden is their hatred for the rights of women and LGBT people, Every year, leading AfD member Beatrix von Storch is on the front row of the reactionary "Lebensschützer" march against abortion rights. Another leader, Frauke Petry has promoted a „three-child policy“ which rewards women for staying at home and having children.

The AfD was partly founded by fundamentalist CDU members who felt that Angela Merkel was too soft on gay marriage. At the same time, they are keen to push the myth that Muslims are homophobic and do not share „our“ progressive values.

The AfD are not alone in wanting to return to a time of „Kinder, Küche, Kirche“. Other right wing politicians from Donald Trump in the USA to Marine le Pen in France have political programmes which attack the rights of women and sexual minorities alongside their more blatant racism and Islamophobia

Darren Roso spent last 2014-5 in France writing a book about Daniel Bensaid (coming soon through Historical Materialism). While he was there he was also researching the Front National – research that he continued in Paris this Summer.. He will talk about the resistable rise of this fascist party and the large homophobic demonstrations that it has helped to support.

Ana Barrena Lertxundi is a member of both Podemos and the Bündinis für Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung" (Alliance for reproductive rights) in Berlin. She will talk about the AfD's position on reproductive rights and why we should all fear the possibility of AfD bigots being voted into the German Bundestag.

At this meeting we will not just be discussing theory but preparing our activities at 2 important demonstrations on 16 September – the demo against the anti-abortion bigots of „March for Life“ (www.facebook.com/events/187794938291603) and the CommUNITY carnival (www.facebook.com/events/1348795305156514) which are working together to fight for an anti-racist and anti-sexist Berlin